Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
by awriterinthedark
Summary: A drunk driver. An old car. A black dress. A lifeless body laying in an open coffin. That's all that Regina cares to remember about the day her fiancé died. (extended summary inside)
1. Falling Apart

**Summary;**

A drunk driver. An old car. A black dress. A lifeless body laying in an open coffin.

That's all that Regina cares to remember about the day her fiancé died. Her heartless mother could only manage to give Regina unwanted pity, so she turned to her sister, Zelena for comfort. The two became closer than ever, but Zelena was whisked away to England for work, and Regina was once again left alone. She somehow picked up the pieces and managed to put her life back together, but she only ever felt like a ghost, drifting through life without purpose. But when Zelena comes home with her client, Robin, and her boyfriend, Arthur, Regina's life is flipped on its head.

But will she learn that it's okay to let her heart beat, or will she forever be haunted by the memories of her past and the grudges she has held for years?

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or the characters, just the plot :)**

 **Chapter One; Falling Apart**

Muffled voices that belonged to people expressing unwanted sympathy were all Regina could hear. She was sitting in a chair shoved back into a corner, staring blankly at the wall opposite where she sat. Her hands sat still in her lap, which was unusual. Regina was the sort of person whose hands needed to constantly be moving; whether she was twiddling her thumbs or twisting the engagement ring on her finger.

The engagement ring that now held no meaning besides a painful reminder of what wouldn't ever happen. What _couldn't_ ever happen. But the simple golden band still rested on Regina's finger and she couldn't make herself remove it, even after all that had happened.

One voice broke out amongst the hundreds of others that had simply said, "I'm sorry for your loss." As if that actually meant something.

"Regina."

The woman's voice was gentle, and Regina knew who it was before she even spoke. If anyone could comfort her, it was this woman. Her sister, Zelena.

"How are you holding up?" Zelena sat down next to Regina, her eyes full of concern.

"I don't know," Regina whispered softly. Her eyes drifted down to the ring encircling her finger and she felt tears begin to flood her eyes again. Zelena pulled her sister into a hug, doing what she could to help Regina. But now, the only thing Regina could do was mourn her loss and hopefully move on one day.

 _one week later_

Regina sat at a table in Starbucks, awaiting her sister's arrival. The table in the back left corner was practically theirs. It was where they met up whenever they needed to talk, or if they were simply craving a frappucino.

Regina was out of it today, staring blankly at her coffee cup that was still full. Zelena sat down across from her, phone pressed against her ear. "Robin, I know, but you have to understand-" Zelena huffed and sat down, listening to Robin talk. Finally, she interrupted him, "If you can't respect that my sister needs me, then I am not going to work with you." Robin said something else, before Zelena said her goodbye, "I'll see what I can do. But I'm not making any promises on how long I can stay. And I'm busy right now, so let's finish this discussion later." After Robin bid Zelena farewell, Zelena hung up and looked over at her sister. "Sorry about that. He's a potential client."

"That's okay," Regina muttered.

"That's actually what I'm here to talk about..." Zelena's voice trailed off. She didn't want to break the news to her sister, but she had no choice. "Robin...he lives in England."

"So?"

Zelena sighed, building up the courage to break the news. "So I'm temporarily moving to England."

"What?!" The look of betrayal in Regina's eyes was almost enough to make Zelena call Robin back and say it wasn't going to work out. But Zelena needed the job, and she couldn't work from America if Robin was in England.

Regina was hurt that Zelena was choosing her job over her sister. In childhood, they only had each other. Their mother was the perfect emotionless business woman who hardly ever talked to her children, and their father had died shortly after Regina was born. After Regina's fiancé had died, the only person Regina would even look at was Zelena. They were inseparable for most of their lives, so much that people assumed they were fraternal twins.

And now Zelena was throwing all of that away for the sake of a job offer?

"I'm sorry, Regina," but Zelena knew her apology sounded empty, "I really am. I promise I'll call you to make sure you're okay as often as you'd like. And I'll help you as much as I can before I leave in a month."

Regina nodded absentmindedly. She hadn't been drinking her coffee before, but now it seemed even more unappetizing. Regina had been used to the feeling of being alone, but soon she would truly have no one. Her fiancé was dead, her sister was moving across the ocean, and her mother hadn't spoken to Regina since the empty, "I'm sorry," she had offered at the funeral. The only other person Regina even _cared about_ was her half-friend, Emma Swan, but she had her own family and her own group of friends now.

Zelena murmured a final apology before standing up and pulling her phone out again. Regina watched as her sister left, unsure what to do now. Everything she had built up had fallen down at the hands of a drunkard who thought it was a good idea to drive while under the influence. Regina didn't even know his name, or if he had been properly punished for what had happened.

As Zelena walked away, she called Robin back. "Hey, Sorry about earlier..."

"I'm sorry too," he apologized. "I understand that your sister has been through something no one should ever have to go through. If you want to stay with her, I can respect that."

"No, it's fine," Zelena assured him. "I'll be in England in a month, it's already decided. I'm sure Regina will be alright."

"Are you absolutely positive?"

"Yes." Zelena's decision was final. "I look forward to working with you in a month."

"And I you," Robin replied politely. He hung up, and Zelena put her phone away. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. She had her reasons for being so persistent in taking this job, but she just wished it was a little _closer_. Either way, the job was hers now, and she wasn't going to give it up. She would simply have to do what she could to make sure Regina was okay from an ocean away.


	2. Beauty and the Queen

**Chapter Two; Beauty and the Queen**

↣ ↢  
 _five years later_  
↣ ↢

A drunk driver, whose name and fate were unknown. An old car, the one her fiancé had been driving while on his way home from work. A black dress, that she had worn to the funeral full of empty, sympathetic, words of pity. A lifeless body in an open coffin, the body of her deceased fiancé, of a man who died long before his time.

Those were the four things Regina remembered about Daniel's death, over five years earlier. Somehow, Regina had managed to pick herself up again, but ever since her fiancé's death, she simply felt like a ghost drifting from one day to the next with almost no purpose. The only good thing that had happened in the past five years was when Regina first met the woman who lived in the apartment across from hers; Belle French. Regina's one and only friend since Zelena had moved to England after she had taken up a job as Robin's manager.

Speaking of Robin, apparently he had been cast in another movie thanks to Regina's sister. Zelena was a good manager, Regina would giver her that much, but Regina would have preferred her client to be someone who lived on the same continent, at the very least. But Zelena hardly ever visited anymore, and Regina had begun only scanning her sister's texts and typing out a meaningless, one-word, response.

A knock on the door interrupted Regina from her thoughts. She jumped up from the couch and opened it. The only person who would possibly be on the other side was Belle.

But when Regina opened the door, the young brunette was crying. Her makeup was smeared all over her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy. Her hair was a mess - it clearly hadn't been brushed out or even cleaned within the past day - and she was wearing wrinkled sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. And with a past like Regina's, she immediately began to fear the worst.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, her voice full of both panic and concern. "What happened?"

"It-it's Gaston," Belle sniffed, "h-he..."

As soon as Regina heard Gaston's name, she knew whatever happened had left only Belle hurt. Regina had tried to warn Belle that Gaston didn't care about her, but Belle had refused to listen. However, Regina wasn't about to tell Belle she had been right all along while she was already sobbing. Instead she ushered Belle inside and shut the door behind her. As much as Regina wanted to give Belle's no-good ex-boyfriend a beating, she had priorities, and helping Belle came first.

Regina grabbed two ice cream sandwiches from her freezer before sitting down next to Belle. Belle accepted the treat and ate all of hers before she was ready to talk. But Regina was patient; she knew that Belle didn't want words of wisdom. She just wanted a friend who would listen.

When Belle finally spoke, Regina could tell her friend was still on the edge of tears. "G-Gaston broke u-up with me bec-cause I found out that I'm-m p-preg-gnant. A-and he d-doesn't wa-ant anyth-thing to d-do with me anym-more. I c-can't do this on m-my own, Regina." Belle dissolved into more tears, and Regina pulled her into a hug.

"You _won't_ do this alone," Regina promised. "I'll be there for you. Screw Gaston! He's an idiot for leaving someone as wonderful as you, and he doesn't deserve you _or_ this child."

Belle sniffled and managed to smile up at her friend. "R-really?"

"Yes," Regina assured her. "Now where is that jerk, Gaston? I need to give him a good punch in the nose for hurting you."

"N-no," Belle put a hand on Regina's arm. "We need to be the better people."

Regina frowned. Belle was always giving people second chances and not letting her get revenge when that was all someone deserved. But Regina gave in and decided to let the matter of Gaston rest for the moment, not wanting to upset Belle anymore. So instead, she turned her focus to helping soothe Belle and make her comfortable. "Is there something you'd like to do? We could watch some Netflix or go get a pizza. I'll do whatever you want."

"Well, there _is_ a movie I've been wanting to watch lately...but I couldn't ask you to watch it. I know you're against anything with _him_ in it."

Belle didn't have to say _his_ name for Regina to know who she was talking about. It was a code of sorts that the two had developed. _Him_ meant Robin Locksley; the man who had ripped Zelena away from Regina. From what Regina knew - and that wasn't much - Robin only ever acted in British movies whose popularity never made it across the ocean. But Belle loved any sappy romance movie she could get her hands on, no matter _what_ country it was from.

"I'll watch it," Regina reluctantly gave in. She had been the one who offered to do anything Belle wanted, and Regina's petty grudge against some actor wasn't enough to stop her from keeping a promise to her best friend. Besides, Belle needed something to get her mind off of Gaston, and Regina knew a favorite movie would do the trick.

"I'll go get it." Belle stood up and left to get the DVD from her apartment. When she returned, she had a movie titled _Starstruck in Wonderland_. It sounded like a painfully cliché movie to Regina, but that was what Belle enjoyed for some unknown reason.

Bells popped the disc into Regina's DVD player and the movie began. Robin Locksley played the main character's friend, Sean. When he first came on screen, Regina was surprised by how different he looked from what she had expected. Her first thought was that he actually wasn't too bad looking. His bright blue eyes looked like the sky on a bright, summer, day had been sucked into them, and his smirk was strangely charming.

 _He's the reason your sister left_ , she reminded herself. That was all it took for Regina to fill with hatred when she looked at him again.

While Belle immersed herself in the movie, Regina ordered a pizza for the two to share. As Regina waited for the pizza to arrive, Belle began informing her about the other actors in the movie.

There was Anastasia Red and Will - Regina couldn't remember his last name - who played the main characters, Michael and Emma. Apparently, the two actors had been dating while filming the movie, but broken up six months after it was released because of 'personal issues'. The actress who played Emma's best friend was named Alice, and, according to Belle, she had played Alice in an Alice in Wonderland movie when she was younger.

Belle kept spouting random fun facts about the cast at Regina until the doorbell rung. Regina rushed over eagerly, ready for her pizza.

But when she opened the door, she was more than surprised to see that Henry Cassidy - Regina's former friend's son - was the delivery man. Last she had heard from his mother, he was in seventh grade. But as Regina thought back, she realized that the last time she had spoken to Emma Swan (technically Emma _Cassidy_ , but Regina had known her as Swan) was shortly after Daniel's death, making Henry seventeen now. Old enough to be a pizza delivery man, so long as he had gotten his driver's license.

"Henry?" Regina found herself asking. His nametag clearly read ' _Henry Cassidy_ ,' so Regina wasn't really sure why she had formed her statement as a question, but that's how the word had escaped from her mouth.

"Ms. Mills," Henry replied politely. "I didn't know you lived in this apartment building."

"And I didn't know you delivered pizzas."

Henry shrugged. "I just got the job a few weeks ago. But I'm saving up for a car, and I couldn't find anywhere else that was hiring." he handed her the pizza, and Regina payed him. Before she could shut the door, Henry spoke up again, "My mom was, uh, just wondering about you the other day. But she didn't know if you would really want to talk to her."

Regina pursed her lips. No, she really did _not_ want to talk to Emma, but some part of her felt like she _had_ to. Or maybe that was just Zelena nagging her to get back in touch, like she had done so many years ago when she was afraid Regina would be left completely and utterly alone once Zelena was in England.

"Tell her I said hi," was what Regina decided to say. "I'm sure she's busy with work and..." the names of Emma's _other friends_ had escaped Regina's mind, "uh, her friends and family."

"I will," Henry promised with a smile on his face. Regina bid him a quick farewell and shut the door before she accidentally got herself roped into meeting up with Emma again. She brought the pizza back over to the couch and plopped down next to Belle. She opened the box and set it on the coffee table, and both Regina and Belle reached for a piece.

"Did you know that Robin has a son?" Belle asked. "He divorced his wife shortly after the baby was born, but they share custody of him."

Regina figured Belle must have run out of facts about the other actors and actresses because otherwise, she wouldn't have brought up Robin. Or she was just distracted by the movie, which Regina was fine with. Belle had obviously needed a distraction.

"And Robin and Will became good friends while filming this," Belle added. Completely turning from the facts about Robin and Will that Belle had been sharing previously, she delivered one about Anastasia, "Anastasia's favorite Disney villain is Jafar."

Regina frowned. "Where'd you find _that_ out at?"

Belle shrugged. "I read it online somewhere. This movie was my absolute favorite for the longest time, and I looked up a bunch of stuff about the actors because I wanted to know what other movies and TV shows they were in."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Regina muttered. "Remember that one guy who played Rumplestilskin? You thought he was so wonderful, you were convinced you were going to marry him."

Belle let out a dreamy sigh. "Robert Gold. Yeah...I still really want to marry him."

Regina rolled her eyes. "You fall in love with any good looking actor you see."

"Oh, like you don't have a celebrity crush," Belle shot back. "I bet you're secretly in love with Benedict Cumberbatch or David Tennant."

Regina shook her head. "I'm not going to crush on some guy that is probably already married and doesn't even know I exist."

"Gold isn't already married," Belle protested.

"Yeah, but the other two are."

"Okay..." Belle thought for a moment. "What about...Jefferson Hatter?"

"I don't _have_ a celebrity crush," Regina snapped. Once the words were out of her mouth, Regina immediately wished she could take them back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I just-"

Belle shook her head. "It's okay. I shouldn't have pushed you."

Regina felt a small smile crawl onto her face when she realized Belle wasn't mad. Belle pulled her friend into a hug. "This movie is almost over. And I think I know what we should watch next..."

Regina grinned. "Beauty and the Beast?"

"Beauty and the Beast!" Belle exclaimed. As Regina stood up to find her Beauty and the Beast DVD, she smiled to herself. Tonight was one of those rare occurrences where Regina felt like she was actually _living_ , and not just drifting. Having Belle as a friend did that to her sometimes, and Regina was grateful for that. Although the good moments were rare, it was better than nothing. It was the moments like these that gave Regina the strength to carry on. The hope that another one would seize Regina and leave her full of life, even if only for a few short hours.

* * *

Zelena was just about ready to throw her phone at the ground. She probably already would have if her phone screen wouldn't have shattered. Why couldn't her darn sister just _pick up the phone?!_

"She still not answering?" Robin asked, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket.

"No," Zelena growled. "I don't understand what's so hard about answering the phone! And I don't even think she read any of my messages the whole way through because she's just been responding with, 'okay,' for the past _year_!"

"I'm sure she's fine," Arthur assured his girlfriend. "Our flight will be here any minute, you need to make sure you're ready."

"I _am_ ready!"

Zelena's frustrations were interrupted by a small voice calling out, "Papa!" Zelena, Arthur, ad Robin all looked up to see Robin's son, Roland, running towards his dad. His mother, Marian, trailed behind them.

"He wanted to say one last goodbye," Marian explained.

Roland jumped into his father's outstretched arms. "Bye bye, Papa."

"Goodbye, Roland." Robin pulled back to look his son in the eyes. "You be good for your mother, okay?"

"I will!" Roland promised. "When are you gonna be back?"

Robin sighed. "I'm not sure yet. But I'm going to visit you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay!" Roland grinned, showing off his missing teeth and dimpled cheeks. "I'll miss you, Papa."

"I'll miss you too, my boy."

As Roland ran back to his mother, he waved one last goodbye to Robin, who waved back.

"Ready to board?" Arthur asked, the question aimed at both Robin and Zelena. Zelena sighed, having given up on trying to contact her sister, and nodded. Robin nodded as well, and the three headed towards the airplane that would take them straight to America, where Regina was (hopefully) expecting them and awaiting the return of her sister.


	3. An Unexpected Visit

**Chapter Three; An Unexpected Visit**

Regina's eyes blinked open, and for a moment she was confused about where she was. It took a couple seconds for her to remember the events of the previous night. After they finished watching _Beauty and the Beast_ , Belle had forced Regina to watch another sappy romance movie - one _without_ Robin in it - and the two had drifted to sleep before the movie ended. Belle was still fast asleep, so Regina made sure she was careful when she stood up. She moved to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of cold water in order to wake up. Luckily, she didn't have to go into work today. But Belle had an ultrasound scheduled that Regina had promised to go to.

Once Regina had finished her water, she got dressed and began to brush through her hair, having nothing better to do until Belle woke up. But Belle needed her sleep, so Regina had decided not to wake her until closer to the time of the appointment.

Regina was halfway through brushing her hair out when there was a soft knock on the door. She frowned and set her hairbrush down on the table. Who would possibly be knocking on her door? The only person Regina could think of was Emma, but if the blonde was still anything like she used to be five years ago, she was never up before ten on a Saturday.

There was another knock, louder this time, and Regina figured she had better answer the door before whoever it was woke Belle. She opened the door, not sure what to expect. But whatever she was expecting, it was certainly not Zelena, Robin, and Zelena's boyfriend, Arthur. Regina's eyes widened and she said the first thing that came to mind; "What are you three doing here?"

Zelena frowned. "You responded to the text I sent. I told you Robin had auditioned and got a part in a movie being filmed in the States, so we were stopping by."

Regina looked back at Arthur and Robin, who were standing behind Zelena, unsure what they should do. Regina could tolerate Arthur at least, even though her mother always used him to make Regina feel bad about herself. That wasn't his fault, though.

But Robin. Robin Locksley. He was _not_ allowed in her apartment, and he never would be. He was the reason Zelena had gone to England in the first place. Regina glared at him before pushing Zelena out of the doorway and following her out into the hall. Regina closed the door to apartment so they would have a smaller chance of waking up Belle.

"You can _not_ be here right now," Regina hissed. "Belle is asleep, and I have to go with her to an appointment in a few hours. And waking up to find that my sister, her boyfriend, and Robin _freaking_ Locksley are in my apartment is _not_ what she needs after yesterday. So I'm sorry, but I have other commitments today. Goodbye." Regina turned to re enter her apartment, but Zelena grabbed her arm.

"I told you we were coming _two weeks ago_! And I've tried to contact you since, but you never answer your phone."

Regina narrowed her eyes and with an emotionless voice, she replied, "Maybe you shouldn't have thrown away our friendship for a stupid job offer. I have a new friend now, and she needs me more than you do." Regina ripped her arm out of Zelena's grasp and stormed back into her apartment.

Zelena watched the door shut, unable to do anything. She felt like a little kid again, when Regina was the only person she had. Whenever the two got into arguments in their childhood, it never lasted long because they needed each other. But this grudge had been boiling inside of Regina for five years, and now neither of them were alone without the other.

Zelena handed Arthur the papers for their hotel rooms. "You and Robin go check in."

"How are you going to get to the hotel?"

"I'll figure something out. Or I'll just call you."

Arthur knew it was best not to argue with Zelena, at least when it came to her sister. He pressed a chaste kiss on her lips before he and Robin left for the hotel. Once they were gone, Zelena knocked on the door again, but this time, no one came.

"Regina, please!" Zelena wasn't sure Regina even heard her, as she was trying her best to not wake up Belle. "I just want to talk!"

No response.

Zelena placed her hand against the door, wishing she could push it open, hug Regina, and make everything better. But Regina's life was far from rainbows and unicorns, and Zelena knew that at this point, Regina had learned how to fend for herself better than she should have needed to. If only she wasn't defending herself from Zelena.

The redhead sighed and turned away. Just as she was about to walk away and join Robin and Arthur, the door creaked open behind her.

"Zelena?" Regina's voice was quiet.

Zelena glanced back at her sister. "I can go if you want. I don't want to bother you."

Regina shook her head and opened the door wider. "I guess I just snapped when I saw you with Robin and Arthur. You have _everything_ \- a steady job, a boyfriend, lots of friends - and all I have is Belle, and up until yesterday, she had a boyfriend of her own to occupy her. I'm not used to...to caring so much. Or even _having_ to care so much. But...I think we have a little catching up to do before Belle's appointment."

Zelena smiled. "Really?"

Regina nodded. "Come in. Belle's still asleep, but as long as we whisper, she should be fine." Zelena followed her sister into the apartment. "I have apple strudel Pop Tarts," Regina added. "I know how much you like those."

* * *

Belle yawned, signaling to Regina and Zelena that she was awake. She stood up and looked over to where Regina and Zelena were in the kitchen. The expression on her face immediately morphed into one of confusion. "Zelena? I thought you were in England?"

"I was," Zelena took a bite of her Pop Tart. "But Robin got a role in a movie being filmed in the United States, so I guess we'll be here for a while."

Belle raised an eyebrow. " _We_...?"

"Guess you get to met the famous Robin Locksley from _Starstruck in Wonderland_ ," Regina muttered. "Today's your lucky day."

Belle knew from the tone in Regina's voice that the older woman wasn't pleased about Robin coming home with Zelena, but the two sisters were eating breakfast together. That meant they were at least talking again.

Belle walked over to the table and sat down next to Regina. "I haven't seen you in a while, Zelena," she immediately started a conversation, doing what she could to get Regina's mind off of Robin. As much as Belle may have been a fan of his movies, she knew Regina didn't want to even say his name out loud most of the time.

"Yeah," Zelena agreed. "It's been about five years."

"I see you've picked up the accent."

"You've still got one yourself," Zelena replied, smirking. Before Belle had moved next door to Regina, she had lived with her dad in Australia. She moved to the States so she could be closer to her mother, but had never picked up an American accent. Zelena, however, had picked up a British accent after a year and a half of living in England.

"Well," Belle stood up and pushed her chair in. "I'm going to go get dressed. Regina, are you still-?"

"I'm coming with," Regina assured Belle. "I promised I'd be there, and I will."

"Thank you." Belle grabbed the movies she had brought over the night before and then left for her own apartment to get herself ready for the ultrasound.

* * *

On the way to Belle's ultrasound, Regina dropped Zelena off at the hotel where she, Arthur, and Robin would be staying. As Zelena entered the building, Arthur exited it. It seemed as if he had been waiting for Zelena to arrive. However, instead of following Zelena inside, he headed for Regina's car. Regina rolled the window down so she could talk to him.

"Do you need something?"

"I was, um, wondering if we could talk? It wouldn't take more than a few minutes, but I'm not sure how long you have until the appointment-"

"It's fine," Belle piped up from the passenger seat. "The appointment isn't for another ten minutes, and we're only about five minutes away."

Regina looked over at her friend. "You sure?"

Belle nodded. "You're fine."

"Okay." Regina unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car so she could talk to Arthur. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I was wondering if you would give me your blessing to marry Zelena?"

If Regina was going to be honest, her first instinct was to say no. But Arthur didn't seem like a bad person - he seemed wonderful for Zelena, really - but that was only going off of what little Regina knew about him, which was where the problem came in.

She didn't know enough about Arthur to say yes.

But another question was nagging at Regina that she decided to ask first, "Why are you asking me?"

"Because the only other person I could ask would be Cora - your mother - and I don't think she cares about Zelena's happiness as much as you do. I want to make sure the person closest to Zelena approves, and that would be you."

Regina thought about Arthur's answer. He was right, and they both knew it. As long as Arthur had a stable job and a good income, Cora would be fine with it. She wouldn't approve of _Arthur_ , just his money, and that wasn't truly a blessing. That was tolerance, which was about all Cora ever gave.

But she still couldn't quite make herself say yes. "I...I'm not sure... I don't know you very well," she explained. "From what little I _do_ know, you're a good man, but I don't quite know enough. So maybe...maybe just give me a few days, and my answer will probably be yes."

"Of course." Arthur didn't seem disappointed or even surprised by Regina's answer. "Also, Robin, Zelena, and I are going to Granny's for dinner tonight, if you and Belle would like to join us."

Regina had half a mind to decline the invitation simply because Robin would be there, but if she was ever going to give Arthur a definite yes or no to his question, she would need to spend a little more time around him. And Belle and Zelena would both be there, so it wouldn't be too bad. Hopefully. So Regina decided to accept the invitation, "We'd love to."

"Then I guess I'll see you tonight."

Regina nodded. "See you tonight." Arthur walked back inside, and Regina reentered her car so she could get Belle to her appointment on time.

"So what was that all about?" Belle asked as Regina pulled her seatbelt back on.

"Nothing." Regina didn't want anyone pressuring her about giving Arthur an answer, or influencing her decision. "He just invited us to dinner at Granny's tonight. He, Zelena, and Robin will be there, as well as the two of us...if you want to come, that is."

"I'd love to come!" Belle smiled.

"Great!" Regina felt relieved that she would at least have Belle with her. "Now, let's get you to that appointment."


	4. Enter the Villain

**Chapter Four; Enter the Villain**

No more than ten minutes before they were supposed to be at Granny's, Belle began puking her guts out. Regina had tried to stay with her, but Belle insisted she go to dinner with her sister. So Regina called Merida Dun-Broch, another friend of Belle's, to stay with Belle while Regina was at Granny's.

Regina arrived a few minutes late, but Robin was the only one already there. Regina groaned internally and sat down. "Where are Zelena and Arthur?" she asked.

Robin shrugged. "They said they were on their way a few minutes ago. But I haven't heard since. Where's Belle?"

"She got sick," Regina said simply. She took her phone out, mostly to avoid conversation with Robin. She texted her sister, asking where she was.

After Regina sent the message, she began to look around the restaurant. Granny's wasn't a big restaurant, and it wasn't fancy by any means. But it was a nice place for a quick meal or somewhere to meet when you needed to talk to a friend over lunch. Belle and Regina ate there a lot because Belle was friends with one of the waitresses - Ruby - who also happened to be the granddaughter of the restaurant owner. Ruby was talking to Dorothy, another waitress, about something.

Regina's phone vibrated in her hand, jolting her out of her thoughts. She looked down to see that Zelena had replied;

 _Sorry, Arthur and I got distracted. We'll be there in a few minutes._

Regina groaned, knowing very well what Zelena meant by _'distracted'_. Instead of sharing the message with Robin, she decided to ask Merida how Belle was doing. Anything to prevent a conversation with Robin from happening.

"Hey, Gina," Ruby winked at Regina as she arrived at the table. "Who's this? Do I have to stop chasing you now?"

"That's Robin," Regina pointed at her sworn enemy with her phone. "He's Zelena's client, and he's definitely _not_ my boyfriend. We're waiting for my _distracted_ sister and her boyfriend to join us."

"So you're still single?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming, Rubes. I thought you had Victor now anyways?"

"How'd you know?" Ruby quickly went from flirty to defensive.

Regina shrugged. "Belle told me." She looked back at her phone, hoping for a response from Merida. Ruby pursed her lips and stalked away, back over to where Dorothy was standing.

"Why are you so against me being your boyfriend?" Robin asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"Because you're freaking annoying and I don't need to be all over Instagram and Twitter because I'm going out with some British movie star," Regina answered, not even bothering to look up from her phone. Robin admitted defeat in his attempt to get a conversation going and began to look around the restaurant, taking in his surroundings.

It wasn't long before Zelena and Arthur showed up, holding hands as they walked across the restaurant to where Regina and Robin were sitting. "Sorry we're late," Zelena whispered as she sat down.

"I'm sure," Regina rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this dinner over with."

* * *

A man in sunglasses and a pressed black suit stepped off of his private airplane. He held a briefcase in one hand and kept his eyes trained straight forward. His black-haired assistant was by his side almost immediately.

"Mister, you aren't set to arrive at the hotel for another hour. Why did we leave from Ireland so early?"

"You never know what the traffic will be like."

"We took a plane."

The man stopped walking and looked over at his assistant. He lowered his sunglasses so he could look her in the eye. "Air traffic is highly unpredictable. And I have arranged a meeting before I check into the hotel. Look at my schedule."

The assistant opened her planner to see that the man had scribbled in his meeting, without her knowing about it. She slammed the planning book shut and frowned at the man. "Next time, tell me _before_ make adjustments to the schedule. Where is this 'Granny' restaurant anyways?"

"It's called _Granny's_ ," the man corrected. "It's a small restaurant in a small town, just north of where we will be filming. "I'm meeting up with an old acquaintance."

* * *

Regina happened to glance at the door to Granny's at the exact wrong moment. The door swung open and Neal Cassidy entered the restaurant. He sat at a corner table, out of the way, and to Regina's surprise, Emma and Henry hadn't followed him in.

"What's wrong?" Zelena raised and eyebrow. Regina noticed she had a french fry raised halfway to her mouth and she was staring at Neal. She blinked and dropped the fry before looking at Zelena.

"Do you remember Neal Cassidy?" Regina asked in a hushed voice.

Zelena frowned and nodded. "Of course I remember Neal."

"He's sitting in the corner over there," Regina gestured towards him, and Zelena turned around to get a quick glance at him.

"Didn't he marry Emma Swan?"

"Mmm-hmmm," Regina took a sip of her water, "but she's not with him, and neither is their son. Which means he's here-" the restaurant went silent and Regina finished her sentence in a whisper as she looked up at the door once again, "-alone..."

The man who had just entered the small restaurant was clearly famous, as he was flanked by an assistant and a bodyguard. He had sunglasses covering his eyes and he was looking down, so Regina couldn't tell who it was, but she felt like she should know him.

And then she heard his name, amongst the other whispers bouncing around the building; _"...Robert Gold..."_

Regina's eyes widened, "Is it possible that's Robert Gold?"

Zelena looked over at Robin. "Yeah, isn't he in the movie you're in?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"I...I need to..." instead of finishing her sentence, Regina shot up from her seat and rushed back to the kitchen, where Ruby was loading food onto a tray.

"Sorry, Gina," Ruby lifted the tray up so it was balanced on her shoulder, "can't talk right now, we've got a celebrity guest. Besides your boyfriend, that is."

"Okay, first of all, Robin is _not_ my boyfriend. And second, your 'celebrity guest' is _Robert Gold_!"

Suddenly, Ruby seemed very intrigued with what Regina had to say. " _The_ Robert Gold? The one Belle is hopelessly in love with?"

Regina nodded. "That's the one. But Ruby, you _cannot_ mess this up for her. If you go on about how much she loves him _in front_ of him, Gold will get weirded out and Belle will probably murder you."

"Okay. I won't mention her to him ...But Regina, she won't even get to meet him!"

"Yes, she will," Regina assured Ruby. "Apparently he's starring in the same movie as Robin. Zelena will have to be on set whenever Robin's filming, and she can bring Belle and I along. I promise Belle will get her chance to meet him, but you can't talk to him on her behalf."

"I won't," Ruby promised. "But I gotta get this food out before it gets cold."

"Right!" Regina moved out of the way so Ruby could get through before heading to the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall and pulled out her phone to call Belle.

"Hello," it didn't take long for Belle to pick up, which meant she must have been feeling better. "Is something wrong?"

"Hey, Belle...um...nothing's wrong...but you know how you've always wanted to meet Robert Gold...?"


	5. An Old Acquaintance

**Chapter Five; An Old Acquaintance**

Robert Gold sat down across from a man sitting alone in the corner. After all these years, they were finally reunited. His assistant, Milah Korsan, and his bodyguard, Killian Jones, stood awkwardly off to the side, ready for the meeting to end. But it hadn't even begun yet.

"It's been a while," Gold's 'acquaintance' said softly, not wanting anyone to hear.

"Indeed it has," the actor agreed. "Tell me, how are your wife and son? Do they even know about me?"

The mystery acquaintance responded with a seemingly irrelevant question of his own, "Is Grandad still mad that I left Scotland?"

"Ah," Gold pressed his lips together, understanding the answer very well.

The man lowered his voice even more, so the assistant and bodyguard couldn't hear him. "So how'd you manage to convince them to let you meet me here?"

"I put it on the schedule myself. You should feel lucky; I don't go against Milah's wishes for just anyone."

"Good thing we're cousins, then. So why did you _really_ want to talk to me? Surely you wouldn't have accepted this movie role unless it was important."

Gold's voice was barely audible. "It _is_ important, I assure you," the seriousness in Gold's voice was freaking the man out a bit. Gold was hardly ever so serious. "Someone acting in this movie is not who they claim to be. Someone is a fraud, and I am going to figure out who." Gold stood up. "Meet me on set, if you want to help." Gold dropped a folded up piece of paper on the table, and the man's hand quickly shot out to grab it. "See you around, Neal," Gold said as he walked away. Milah and Killian glanced at each other, sharing confused looks, before following Gold out of the restaurant.

↣ ↢  
 _two days later_  
↣ ↢

Regina trudged into the office building where she worked. Mondays were always the hardest, because she had to be at work by 7:30 in the morning, and after staying up late with Belle, who was suffering from morning sickness, this Monday was especially hard. Not to mention that she still had Arthur's question hanging over her head.

She pushed the thoughts of Arthur from her mind as she stepped into the elevator. The doors closed behind her and she rode up to the third floor, where she worked, and prepared herself for another week of work. At least she could look forward to seeing Zelena afterwards.

When Neal entered his house, he knew he was in deep trouble. Emma was sitting at the table with Robert Gold, and both of them had cups of tea sitting in front of them.

"Guess who I met today," Emma said casually as Neal dropped his jacket on the ground. "Your dear cousin. Also known as the actor, Robert Gold. We had a nice chat about all of the things you kept from me."

The thing that scared Neal most was not Emma's steely calm tone; it was the fact that Henry wasn't there to lessen Emma's blow. "Where...where's Henry?"

"At Violet's." Emma took a sip of her tea. "Now, is there anything else you would like to confess while we're dealing with deep, dark, secrets?"

"No," Neal heard himself use a small voice, but he didn't care at the moment because he was waiting for the moment when Emma snapped and started yelling at him.

"No?"

Neal frantically shook his head.

"Well then," Emma turned to Gold, "you may leave." She then faced Neal again, " _You_ , however, may not."

Gold excused himself from the table while Neal stood still, unsure what was going to happen next. As soon as Gold shut the door to the Cassidys' house, Emma snapped. " _Why_ didn't you just _tell me_?!"

"I thought-"

"No, Neal, listen. I trusted you to tell me about your past when I told you about mine. We had a deal, and you lied to me. Not only that, you lied to Henry!" Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I just need some time to myself. I think we both do. Violet's parents said Henry could stay with them for a few days."

Neal felt his heart shattering as he watched Emma walk towards the door. He was sure she was going to tell him to get out, but instead, she grabbed her jacket and opened the door. Before she walked out, she glanced back at Neal. "The house is yours."

Neal stood still, paralyzed by the shock of what had just happened. "Emma, wait!" Neal lunged towards the door, but he was too late. Emma slammed it shut and a few moments later, Neal could hear the engine of her yellow Volkswagen bug as she started her car.

Neal swung the door open to see Emma pulling out of the driveway. " _EMMA!_ " Neal shouted as loud as he could. But it was no use. She was already gone.

When Regina arrived home, Belle and Merida were already in her apartment, looking through the fridge. Regina sighed. It was times like this when she questioned her decision to give Belle her spare apartment key.

"What are you doing?"

"Belle was having cravings," Merida answered. "Also, I finally got fired from the library today!" Merida was grinning, as if getting fired was a good thing.

"And you're proud of that?"

"I hated that job."

"Hey!" Belle exclaimed. "They let you stay months longer than you deserved, have a little respect please."

"They only did that because of you," Merida replied. "If they weren't scared you'd leave with me, I would have been fired a _long_ time ago."

Belle shrugged, unable to argue with Merida. "Do you wanna watch some Grey's Anatomy while I help you search for a new job?" Belle offered.

"Duh." Merida and Belle waltzed out of Regina's apartment. "Bye!" they chorused as they left, shutting the door behind them. Regina sighed and sat down on the couch. Her phone went off, and Regina checked to see who had texted her.

 _I have an offer for you. I'll explain details tomorrow morning –Zel_

Regina rolled her eyes. Zelena always had a way of being overdramatic. But speaking of _offers_... Regina still hadn't given Arthur an answer. She should probably figure out if she was going to allow him to marry Zelena or not. She started typing out a message to him when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Belle or Merida must have forgotten something.

Regina set her phone down, the text still half finished, and opened the door. On the other side was a blonde woman who looked far more than five years older than Regina remembered her.

 _"Emma?"_


	6. The Offer

**Chapter Six; The Offer**

Neal hadn't moved since Emma had left him alone in their house. He wanted to call Henry, but he decided against it. No one knew _why_ Neal had kept Robert Gold a secret, and Neal was beginning to wonder if it was even for the right reasons.

Finally, Neal forced himself to sit down and call his cousin. Gold picked up on the second ring, "Hello?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Do what?" Gold feigned innocence.

"You know what," Neal snapped. "Emma _left_ me because of your surprise visit! Yesterday, I had a wife and a son. Now I'm not sure either of them will ever forgive me. Had you given me a few more days, I would have come clean."

"We don't have a few more days!" Gold argued, "The first read through for the movie is _tomorrow_. I need you to be there, and act as one of my agents. And I needed your family to know because this is going to be much more dangerous than I originally thought.

Neal's anger diminished when he heard Gold's explanation. If Emma and Henry were both angry at him, they wouldn't be as hurt if something bad were to happen to Neal. That may not have been Gold's thought process, but at least now, Neal could cope with the gaping hole Emma had left in his heart. But there was one thing that was still bugging Neal, "Why is this case going to be so dangerous?"

"Five and a half years ago, a man moved to this town because he swore to hurt a citizen as much as he possibly could. No one knows who he was targeting because he ended up killing someone in a car crash dismissed as a drunk driving accident. He ran before authorities could catch him, but my sources say he's back in Storybrooke using this movie as a cover. Anyone who has been living in Storybrooke for over five years could be this man's target. And we don't know if the car crash was purposeful or actually just because he was driving under the influence."

Neal felt as if his blood had been turned to ice. This mysterious criminal could be after Emma or Henry, for all he knew. After all, Emma had been living in Storybrooke ever since she moved out of her parents' house at eighteen.

"So, are you still in? Because if you want to back out, I wouldn't blame you."

"I'm still in," Neal said firmly. If this man wanted to hurt someone in the town Neal called home, Neal was going to make sure that at the very least, he had to crawl through hell to get there.

After a lot of crying on Emma's part, Regina was able to figure out the gist of what had happened. Apparently, Robert Gold - the same Robert Gold that Belle had a crazy infatuation with - was Neal's cousin. However, Neal had neglected to share that information with Emma. In fact, he had lied about a good portion of his past all together. So Emma had sent Henry to spend some time with his girlfriend of the past two years while Emma had stormed out, not even knowing where she was headed.

Once Emma was done with her tearful venting, the apartment was silent for several moments. Finally, Regina spoke, "You can spend the night here, if you'd like. But I'm meeting my sister for breakfast tomorrow." It was true, Regina hadn't wanted to ever speak to Emma again. But for some reason, Emma had chosen to go to _Regina_ instead of her other friends, which warmed Regina's heart.

Emma nodded and wiped the tears from her puffy eyes. "Thank y-you, Regina."

Regina pursed her lips, debating on whether or not to say the words bouncing around in her mind. Finally, she decided to just let them go and see how Emma would react, "You can't stay mad at him forever, you know."

"I know," Emma whispered, "I just need a bit of time to think. ...What time do you need me to leave by tomorrow?"

Regina had an internal battle with herself. She thought catching up with Emma would be full of awkward silences and texting Zelena as an excuse to not talk. But when it came down to it, Regina wanted what she had always wanted for Emma while they were friends; for her to be safe. "You can stay here while I'm with Zelena," she offered, pushing back the part of her that wanted Emma to leave as soon as possible. "Just know that Belle and Merida might stop by to raid my fridge or something because Belle has my extra apartment key."

"Are you sure?" Emma didn't want to invade Regina's privacy, especially since this was the first time they had spoken in five years.

"Of course! ...But there's one thing I want to know."

"What is it?" Emma looked up at Regina and frowned.

"Why me?" Regina asked the blonde. "Why not Mary Margaret and David? Why did you come to me?"

"Do you remember the promise we made each other in college, when we first became friends?"

Regina nodded, the memory rushing back to her;

 _Regina was walking around on campus after dark, trying to figure out the best way to sneak into the office that belonged to one of her teachers when she heard the revving of a chainsaw. She felt herself walking towards the sound, though she wasn't sure why._

 _When she found the source of the noise, she rolled her eyes. "Emma,_ what _are you doing?" Regina had first met the blonde a few weeks before, on the first day of school for the year. It was Emma's first year at college, and she was already cutting down an apple tree._

 _"Getting revenge," Emma responded. "Kitsis called me out today for something Killian was doing, and the little delinquent got away with it. I confronted Kitsis about it after class, and he told me I should be okay getting in trouble for Killian because we're dating." Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm so close to breaking up with him."_

 _"You should," Regina advised. "He's a complete Panini Head if you ask me."_

 _"What does that mean?" Emma turned her attention from the apple tree and looked at Regina, "What's a Panini Head?"_

 _"Ask your boyfriend; he is one. So why are you cutting down the apple tree to get revenge on Kitsis?"_

 _"He's been growing it ever since he started teaching here, twenty years ago."_

 _Regina smirked. "Oh, you are amazing. But what if we do more than just cut down his apple tree?" Regina stepped closer to her potential partner in crime, "What if we sneak into his office and screw everything up? I have duck tape and post it notes."_

 _"What did Kitsis do to you?" Emma asked, making sure Regina wasn't going to just end up selling her out._

 _"He gave me a D on my paper because I asked my sister for help on it. It's not my fault my sister is smart than he is," Regina shrugged. "So what do you say? Partners?" Regina held her hand out for Emma to shake._

 _"Sounds good to me." Emma shook her new friends' hand._

 _After they sawed down the apple tree and defaced Kitsis's office, they snuck back out through the window and ran for the dorms._

 _"That was probably my greatest achievement!" Emma exclaimed, adrenaline still rushing through her veins._

 _"Kitsis is going to kill us if he ever finds out," Regina warned Emma._

 _"Oh, who cares? We make great partners in crime! Let's go after someone else next week."_

 _"Let's go after your Panini Head of a boyfriend," Regina suggested. She and Emma stopped running once they reached the dorm building. they were both out of breath and their cheeks were red from running and from the cool September night air._

 _"Let's not. He might_ actually _kill me."_

 _"If that's the case, you should probably break up with him," Regina advised._

 _"Maybe."_

 _"Hey, if you ever need away from Killian or any other boyfriend you may have, you always have a home with me," Regina promised. "I'll keep you safe, I promise."_

 _"Ditto," Emma agreed. "I'll be there for you, no matter what."_

 _"So...friends?" Regina asked, a smile on her face._

 _Emma nodded. "Friends." The two shook hands, sealing their friendship._

"Well, I was absolute crap at keeping my end of our deal, but I was hoping maybe you would still be willing to keep yours," Emma said, almost guiltily. "I mean, you don't have to, but-"

"Why wouldn't I?" Regina asked. "I'm at fault as much as you are, Swan. I could have gone to you for support, but I didn't. We both made mistakes, but maybe instead of blaming ourselves for them, we should just leave them in the past."

Emma smiled at Regina. "So...friends?"

Regina grinned. "Friends," she promised. She shook Emma's hand, and the broken friendship the two had let fall through seemed to heal instantaneously.

↣ ↢  
 _the next morning_  
↣ ↢

Regina sat down in the seat across from Zelena. They were at a table in the back corner of Misthaven Café.

"So what is this 'offer' you have?" Regina asked.

"Alice Lowe was hired to be a minor character in this movie that Robin and Robert Gold are filming. However, she and Jefferson Hatter have a touchy past and she dropped the role last-minute, when she found out that he would be in it with her. The director was desperate for a replacement and I told him I had another client who would be willing to take the role."

"You don't have another client..." As Regina's voice trailed off, she realized what Zelena's _offer_ was. "Oh," Regina whispered softly. Regina pointed to herself, " _...Me?_ "

Zelena nodded. "There's only three scenes for the role, and I don't know what you have against Robin, but he's not in any of them."

The no Robin factor was a good thing to point out, because that meant Regina wasn't going to have to pretend to like him. She wasn't sure she even _could_ pretend. Still, Regina wasn't convinced about taking the role, "Zelena, I work in an office. I don't act."

"You used to," Zelena protested. "I'm not asking you to become a movie star, I just need _someone_ to take this role or I'll get in trouble and end up getting fired or getting Robin taken out of the movie!"

"That sounds like a personal problem," Regina built her walls up the moment Zelena mentioned Robin's role being in danger. Why should Regina care about the person who pulled her sister across the ocean?

"Regina, please," Zelena was practically begging. "Just come to the read through tonight, and if you don't want to do this, I'll find someone else."

Regina sighed. "Zelena, I've only ever performed in a school play. This is an actual _movie_."

"I know, I know," Zelena assured her sister. "But please. I know you won't do this for Robin, I get that. I don't know why, but you're stubborn and secretive and that's not the issue right now. But _please_ , Regina. Do it for _me_."

 _"Do it for_ me _."_

"Okay," Regina heard herself say. "I'll do it. For _you_."

"Thank you." Zelena exhaled deeply, finally smiling. "Can you be at the readthrough by 6:30?"

Regina nodded, still only half-conscious of what she was doing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there." She pulled her phone out and sent a quick text to Arthur;

 _Meet me outside of the hotel five minutes before Zelena leaves for the readthrough._


	7. Small World

**Chapter Seven; Small World**

Arthur was outside of the hotel exactly when Regina told him to be. Regina parked her car and jumped out, rushing to get to Arthur before Zelena and Robin emerged from the building behind them.

"Hello."

"Hi," Regina smiled at Arthur.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Zelena's words from earlier were still echoing in the back of Regina's mind; _"Do it for me."_ Regina took a deep breath before speaking, "Yes. You can marry my sister."

As the final actors and actresses trickled into the room, ready for the readthrough, Regina knew this movie was going to be far more than what she had bargained for. Robert Gold walked in, flanked by a bodyguard, an assistant, and Neal Cassidy. His bodyguard seemed vaguely familiar to Regina, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

Regina was seated next to Robin, as they both had the same manager. Regina was staring down at the script, intimidated by the stack of papers lying in front of her. Robin was talking to Jefferson Hatter, who was on his other side, and Zelena was on her phone, most likely texting Arthur.

The movie began with a scene of Gold's character, who would be the main villain. For the most part, Regina simply sat and followed along, reading from her own script. Like Zelena had said, she was only a minor character.

When Robin's first scene came along, Regina was mesmerized by his voice. In the sappy romance that _Starstruck in Wonderland_ was, she hadn't seen how good his acting skills really were. Regina found herself staring at Robin as he spoke, instead of down at her script. As soon as Robin's lines were over, she quickly refocused on the printed pages at her place on the table.

Regina's first scene was about a half hour into the movie. She was playing the love interest of Jefferson's character, which explained why Alice Lowe had dropped out.

"Tarrant, I have your tea." When Regina spoke, she could feel Robin's eyes on her. She stared down at the script, trying to ignore him. _He took your sister away_ , Regina reminded herself. For one, blissful, moment, it worked.

"Could you set it down on the table?" As Jefferson spoke, Robin kept his gaze locked on Regina. She tried to ignore him as she read her next line;

"Sure. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes, actually. Could you tie this?"

Regina hesitated before speaking again, as during filming, she would be tying Jefferson's tie for him. "There you go. You have a meeting tonight?"

"Yes. I should be back by eleven."

"I'll have everything ready by then."

The scene would end with Regina walking out of the room before a transition back to the three minor villains, played by Percy Val, Leopold Blanchard, and Hans Ofsouth-Isles.

As Percy recited his lines, Robin leaned over towards Regina. "You have a beautiful voice, Milady. Especially when you're not yelling at us to leave you alone," he whispered.

Regina knew her cheeks had turned a fiery shade of red, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. "Thank you." Regina almost added, _"So do you,"_ but bit her tongue in order to keep the words from fleeing her mouth.

As the readthrough was beginning to wrap up, Regina was getting bored. She still had one scene left to read and had already flipped through and discovered that her character would die in front of Jefferson, but at least that meant Regina wouldn't be forced into a sequel if there was one.

Regina's eyes began drifting around until they settled on Gold's bodyguard. He didn't have any sort of identification, but she still couldn't' shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere.

It was when the guard shifted so he was leaning on his right foot and crossed his arms when Regina had a sudden flashback to college.

 _Regina and Emma were in the library, studying for a history test. Books and notes were scattered across the table and a bag of goldfish crackers the two were sharing sat in the middle of the mess._

 _Emma was using flashcards to quiz Regina when Killian Jones waltzed in and snatched the cards from the blonde. He shuffled through the cards as if trying to understand why Emma and Regina would take time to study._

 _"Give them back, Killy," Emma demanded, hoping using her pet named for her boyfriend would work. But Killian just kept looking at the cards disapprovingly._

 _"I really don't understand the point of this," Killian informed Regina and Emma. His friends had the same judgemental looks on their faces that Killian had._

 _"Good thing we didn't ask for your opinion." Regina stood up and plucked the flashcards from Killian's hands. "Now, I believe the library's purpose is for studying and checking out books, not tormenting the person you're supposed to love. And considering I know you can't read, I'm not sure why you're here."_

 _Emma and Killian's friends had to stifle their laughter while Killian looked at Regina like she had personally offended him in the worst way possible. He stepped closer to Regina and wrapped his hand around her wrist, squeezing it tightly, Regina winced, but didn't back down._

 _"You've just made a very bad mistake," Killian growled. He probably would have done more harm had Emma not pulled Killian away from Regina and slapped him._

 _"We're over," she spat. "Get out of here and never touch Regina or I again."_

 _Killian backed away, which surprised both Emma and Regina. He shifted his weight, leaning on his right leg. He crossed his arms. "You're going to regret this, Swan."_

 _"The only thing I regret is agreeing to be your girlfriend."_

Regina nearly gasped when she realized who Gold's bodyguard really was. Killian made eye contact with Regina and in that moment, Regina knew Killian had already recognized her.

Robin nudged Regina and she looked over at him. He gestured to Jefferson, who had started reading his first line in Regina's last scene.

"Thank you," Regina whispered as she flipped to the correct page.

After the readthrough was over, Regina tried to walk to her car faster than Killian would be able to track her down, but it didn't work. Killian came up behind Regina and grabbed her arm. Regina turned around to face him before she twisted out of his grasp. "I'm surprised you actually managed to graduate college."

"I'm surprised you became an actress."

Regina shrugged. "It just sort of happened. So, how come someone like Robert Gold hired someone like you?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"It just sort of happened," Killian replied dryly. "So what are you doing this evening?"

Regina was racking her brain for a snarky response when Robin came running up to her. "Regina! Zelena's meeting Arthur in ten minutes, so could you drive me back to the hotel?"

"Whatever," Regina sighed. She looked back to Killian. "Sorry, gotta go. Have fun keeping your job with the past you have." Regina winked before climbing into her car. Robin got into the passenger side and Regina sped away.

"What happened between you two?" Robin asked.

"We knew each other in college," Regina waved her hand dismissively. "He's just a Panini Head."

"A-a what?"

"Don't ask." Regina was beginning to regret agreeing to drive Robin to the hotel, but at least it got her away from Killian. The rest of the ride to the hotel was silent.

As Robin walked into the hotel alone, Regina couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. The only two people he knew besides Regina were Zelena and Arthur, who always seemed to be together. Although Regina couldn't blame them. She knew from personal experience that you should cherish whatever time you have with those you love.

Regina didn't know what caused it, but she jumped out of the car and rushed over to Robin. Robin looked at her quizzically, trying to figure out why she had gone after him.

"Belle, Merida, Emma, and I are going to eat lunch at Granny's tomorrow if you'd like to join us."

"I'd love to," Robin smiled at Regina. "What time should I meet you there?"

"11:30."

"I'll see you then."


	8. Shattered

**Chapter Eight; Shattered**

Ruby set an order of french fries down in front of Belle. "Is that really all you want?" the waitress frowned.

Belle shrugged. "I'm just craving french fries right now." She began eating them immediately and Ruby rolled her eyes before walking back to the kitchen. Belle was halfway through her fries when Regina and Emma walked in, followed by Robin. Regina and Emma were laughing about something and Robin just looked confused.

Belle gasped when she saw Robin. "You didn't tell me you were bringing him along!" She exclaimed as Regina sat down. Then, she frowned, remembering how much Regina hated Robin. " _Why_ did you bring him along?"

Regina shrugged. "Arthur and Zelena are always out on a date somewhere, so I figured it wouldn't hurt if Robin ate lunch with us."

Ruby, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, passed by Regina and whispered, "Boyfriend," in a sing-song voice.

"Quit listening to every word I say!" Regina called after her. "Or at least try and comprehend them correctly!"

Ruby shrugged and walked away. Regina seemed distant for the rest of the lunch and ended up staring off into space with a scowl on her face.

While the others were eating lunch at Granny's, Arthur had taken Zelena out to her favorite restaurant; Olive Garden. And since there were no Olive Gardens in England, Zelena had been deprived of their food for the past several years. And Arthur hadn't ever had it before.

"So why are we here?" Zelena asked as she picked up a breadstick.

"Because I know how much you love it. Remember that time you went on an hour-long rant about how England needed Olive Gardens?"

Zelena blushed. "Well, it's true. I still stand by my argument. I forgot how amazing these bread sticks are!" Zelena took another bite and sighed happily.

After lunch at Olive Garden, Arthur took Zelena for a walk in Storybrooke's park, which was where he was planning to propose. They were near the lake and no one else was really around. Arthur dropped down onto one knee and pulled a green velvet box from his pocket.

Zelena and Arthur's engagement party was not something Regina would have chosen to attend for anyone apart from her sister. It was hosted by Cora, which was the first sign that it would not end well for Regina. And all of the actors and actresses from the movie had been invited. Regina knew that wherever Gold went, Killian and his assistant would follow.

Regina drug Belle and Merida with her, but Emma decided to stay behind and go check up on her son, who was still staying with his girlfriend and her family. It was probably for the best, considering Gold had brought Neal along to the party with him. Belle and Merida were off somewhere, probably searching for Gold so Belle could confess her undying love for him, which left Regina alone. She had started a conversation with Jefferson for the sole purpose of Killian not seeing an opportunity to talk to her, but Jefferson had been pulled away by someone else.

Regina spotted her mother talking to Percy and Cora pointed towards Regina. Regina quickly looked away and tried to weave her way through the crowds and get herself lost, but Percy found her anyways.

"It's Regina, right?"

"Don't pretend like my mother didn't just tell you my life story, Regina replied. "I have no interest in you, I promise, no matter what lies my mother has filled your brain with." Regina walked past Percy and he didn't follow. Regina thought she was in the clear, but she thought too soon.

"Don't you look beautiful tonight?" a voice came from behind Regina. She turned around to see the smiling face of Robert Gold's bodyguard.

"Killian," Regina said distastefully. "You look..." Regina tried to grasp a word that would positively describe him, but she couldn't, "well, you tried, I guess."

"Still can't compliment anyone, can you?" Regina could smell the alcohol in Killian's breath when he spoke, which meant something bad was bound to happen soon.

"I can't compliment _you_ ," Regina corrected. She turned to go find Belle and Merida, but Killian intercepted her before she could even take a step.

"You know, I've been wondering. What ever happened to that boyfriend of yours? What was his name...Devon? Dalton?"

" _Daniel_ ," Regina corrected. She knew what Killian was trying to do, and she wasn't going to let him get the best of her. "He's gone, not that you would care."

"Wow," Killian looked surprised, which put Regina on edge. He wouldn't care about Daniel unless he was about to insult him or Regina or their relationship. "He died just to get away from you and the spell you put him under? And I thought your sister moving to London to get away from you was bad."

"He did not!" Regina shouted. "I get that you don't believe in love because Emma broke up with you, but that doesn't mean it's not real! And besides, you were an abusive boyfriend with an unhealthy addiction to rum."

"I was good for her and she turned around and married some low-life firefighter because of you."

"You were _not_ good for her," Regina spat.

"Maybe you put Emma and her husband under a spell too, so they would do what you wanted. Maybe that explains why everyone leaves you. Because they all end up realizing what I already have. That you're a witch. I'm glad Daniel got away from you."

"Regina, love, I'm so glad I found you." Robin came in and wrapped an arm around Regina's waist, pulling her in too close for Regina's liking.

Regina nodded absentmindedly, Killian's last words still ringing in her ears. She wasn't even aware enough to tell Robin off for calling her 'love'.

"I do hope Killian wasn't causing you any trouble." Robin glared at Killian, who took a step back.

"Witch," he hissed at Regina.

Regina wanted to say something along the lines of, _'If I were a witch, you'd have been turned into a toad a decade ago,'_ but instead, she stood there and let Killian's insults hit her.

"He'll see someday," Killian warned. "Just like Daniel did. Just like your sister did. They'll all see through you eventually." Killian spun around and walked away as Regina fought to make sure tears didn't leak from her eyes.

"Regina, are you oka-?"

"Go away!" Regina snapped. She stormed off before Robin could see her cry. "I never want to see you again!"

As Regina walked away, she sunk into another flashback to college. The time she met Daniel.

 _Killian was backing her against the side of one of the dorm buildings and Regina had nowhere to run. She was sure she would be badly injured if not worse by the time Killian was done with her._

 _"I told you you'd regret what you did in the library."_

 _"I don't regret it," Regina replied, her voice firmer than she had expected. "I'd do it again and again if it meant that Emma would get out of the abusive relationship she was in."_

 _"Oh how sweet," Killian mocked. "Willing to get beat up for your bestie. Or maybe you two are together? Is that why you wanted Emma to break up with me? So you could have the pretty blonde all to yourself? What, did you put her under a spell so she'd fall in love with you?"_

 _"Emma is my friend, so pardon me for caring about her mental health. Maybe you'd understand what friendship is if you had any real friends."_

 _Anger flooded Killian's eyes and he pulled back his fist, ready to punch Regina, but before he could, a voice interrupted him. "Killian! You found my girlfriend. Thank goodness; I've been looking everywhere for her." Killian looked back to see Daniel coming towards them. Regina silently thanked the mystery man who may have just saved her life. She slipped away and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him._

 _"There you are! I was just about to call you."_

 _Daniel hugged Regina close to him._

 _"Daniel. I didn't know you and Regina were together." Killian raised an eyebrow._

 _"We just started dating a couple days ago," Daniel lied. Regina broke the hug and Daniel wrapped an arm around her, leading her away from Killian._

 _Killian glared at the couple and just before they turned the corner, Killian shouted, "Witch!" at Regina. Regina ignored him_

 _Once Regina and Daniel were far enough away, Regina stopped walking and turned to face Daniel. "Thank you."_

 _"No problem. I heard shouting and Killian's voice, which usually is not a good combination. I figured I should save whatever poor soul he was threatening. What did you do to him?"_

 _Regina shrugged. "I made his girlfriend break up with him. She's my friend and it was an abusive relationship; what would you expect?"_

 _Daniel's eyes widened. "_ You're _Regina Mills?"_

 _"That's me," Regina smiled proudly. She flipped her hair. "I take it you've heard all about the girl who talked some sense into Killian's girlfriend?"_

 _"Well, he didn't exactly put it like that..." Daniel laughed. "I'm Daniel. Daniel Colter. And I hate to break it to you, but I don't think Killian's anger towards you is going to fade anytime soon."_

 _"So what? Are you just going to keep pretending to be my boyfriend?"_

 _"I could," Daniel mused, "_ or _I could be your actual boyfriend. Unless, of course, you actually_ are _with Emma, which is fine by me-"_

 _"No, we're just friends. And I would love for you to be my actual boyfriend." Regina smiled at Daniel._

 _"Well then. I guess that means we should plan an actual first date."_

 _"I guess so." Regina entwined her hand with Daniel's and leaned her head on his shoulder._

"What did you say to Regina?" Robin demanded as soon as he had Killian cornered.

"You mean your girlfriend?" Killian spat. "You're in for a treat, mate. Her last partner got himself killed just to get away from her."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Jones. You can't just go around picking fights with whoever."

"Regina isn't 'whoever'," Killian got closer to Robin. "We have a history, me and her. So it's best you just stay out of it."

Killian tried to push past Robin, but Robin pushed him back against the wall. "No. I don't care what happened in your past with Regina, but she's under my protection now. You want to hurt her, you have to go through me."

"She doesn't even _like_ you, mate! Have you seen the way she looks at you? She _loathes_ you. She doesn't want anything to do with you!" Killian's words stung Robin, and he could tell, so he continued talking. "You're better off running as far away from her as you can get. Go back to your silly little flat in England and forget you ever met Regina Mills."

"You didn't forget you met her," Robin called after Killian as he started to walk away.

Killian turned back to face Robin. "I have a reason to remember."

"So do I."

Whether it was the alcohol rushing through Killian's veins, or the fact that he was so bent on getting revenge for Emma breaking up with him, something inside Killian snapped and he swung his fist at Robin, hitting his nose.

"Don't you talk back to me," Killian swung again, hitting Robin's left cheek. "You don't get to-" Robin caught Killian's fist on the third swing and used Killian's distraction to knee him in the gut. Robin backed away quickly; he hadn't been looking for a fight. Killian swung at Robin blindly, but Robin sidestepped easily. Killian charged him again, and at this point, he had started to make a scene. Milah ended up restraining Killian while Gold asked Robin what had happened. Robin left out the part about Killian saying how much Regina hated Robin.

In the end, it came down to a conversation between Gold and Killian in which Gold fired Killian and Killian got angry, which didn't do anything to cause Gold to want to rethink his decision.

Once Robin was done being questioned, he headed outside to see if Regina had left or not. Her car was still parked behind Cora's house, and the lights were on inside. Robin tapped on the passenger window and Regina looked up at him. She shot him a glare before looking away.

"Regina, please. I can go get Zelena or Belle if you want me to."

Regina slowly looked back up and lowered the window. "Go away."

"Why?"

"Because I said so," Regina said sharply.

Robin contemplated what to do for a moment before he pulled a paper clip from his pocket. After messing with the lock for a few moments, he swung the door open and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Where'd you learn to pick locks?" Regina mumbled.

"Will taught me on the set of _Starstruck in Wonderland_."

Regina smiled softly, "Did you know that Will's favorite ice cream flavor is red velvet?"

Robin gave her a weird look.

"Belle told me a bunch of facts about the _Starstruck in Wonderland_ actors and actresses," Regina explained. "We were only watching it because her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend left her after she told him she was pregnant."

"So what did she tell you about me?"

Regina shrugged. "Not much. She knew how much I-" Regina stopped herself from finishing her sentence with, _'hated you'_. "She knew I wasn't your biggest fan."

Robin looked out the window. The sun was nearly below the horizon and the dark blue sky only had a few streaks of pink and orange left. "Ah."

Something inside of Regina was telling her to thank Robin for getting Killian away from her, but her dislike for the actor was overpowering it. She studied the steering wheel and traced the buttons with her finger. Anything to avoid looking up at Robin.

"You know when we first arrived outside of your apartment?" Robin asked. Regina nodded but still refused to look up at him. "I remember the fire in your eyes. You looked like you were going to try to figure out what the most painful way to kill each of us would be." Regina felt herself smile at Robin's words. "The fire quickly went away when you looked at your sister and Arthur after the initial shock of finding out that we were in America, but it never really seemed to fade for me. Every time I thought maybe you had finally gotten over your hatred of me, that fiery look seems to pop back up."

Regina finally gave in and looked up at Robin. It was obvious she had been crying and her dark brown eyes were wide and even darker in the fast-approaching night. "I don't hate you, Robin," but Regina knew she wasn't fooling either of them.

"Don't lie to me. I just want to know what I did wrong."

"It's nothing."

"Clearly it's not nothing-"

"You took my sister away from me!" Regina snapped. The murderous fire Robin had described moments before was back in Regina's eyes. "You took her away from me when I needed her the most!" Regina paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I was going through the worst loss I've ever been through and Zelena was the only one who could even come close to making me feel better. And _you_ , Robin Locksley, you took that away from me. You ruined my life!"

Robin didn't know how to react. Whatever answer he was expecting wasn't what Regina had supplied. After several seconds of silence, he spoke softly, "I told your sister that it was okay if she stayed with you. I tried to convince her that you needed her, but she moved to England anyways."

"You-you what?"

"Zelena didn't give me the details on what had happened all those years ago, but she told me you had lost someone close to you. I told her she should stay after I realized how much the loss really affected you, but she refused to listen."

Regina sniffled. "I was engaged. I met someone in college and we ended up getting engaged. But he was in a car accident a few weeks before the wedding and..." Regina took a deep breath and her voice got quiet, "he didn't make it."

"I'm sorry," Robin whispered. And for some reason, Regina believed him. "I can drive you home if you want?"

Regina nodded. Robin climbed out of the car and walked around to the driver's side while Regina climbed over to the passenger seat from inside the car. Robin took off his jacket and wrapped it around Regina. She didn't say anything, but she also didn't shrug it off, so Robin started the car and began driving.

Merida stepped out into the cool night air. She was going to Belle's car to find her sweater because Belle was cold, but she was also intent on finding Robert Gold. Merida found the sweater easily, but as she was locking Belle's car back up, she heard footsteps. Making a split-second decision, Merida went towards the footsteps. She rounded a corner and stopped when she saw a man. It was dark, and Merida could only see his silhouette. She crept closer in an attempt to figure out who it was. The figure held his arms out and Merida assumed he must be holding something in front of him. The most obvious thought was a flashlight, but no light was emitted from the man or the object in his hands.

Merida looked beyond the man and saw another figure with his back turned. As the first figure stepped closer, Merida realized what was going on. Neither person had noticed Merida, which would help her.

Merida crept up behind the first man, Belle's sweater still hanging over her arm. She came up beside him and grabbed his wrist, digging her thumb into his wrist. The man was caught off guard and gasped, dropping the gun he had. Merida twisted his arm and kicked his feet out from under him before grabbing his gun. She pointed it at the man who was now on the ground. His face was covered by a ski mask.

"Who are you?" Merida demanded. The man stayed silent. Merida pushed the gun closer to him so it was digging into his chest. "Let me ask again; _Who are you?!_ "

"No one you know," The man hissed. He was wise; using his regular voice could result in someone recognizing him. The man went to throw a punch, but Merida caught his wrist without batting an eye. She stared into his dark eyes and she knew she didn't recognize him. But only seeing his eyes alone, Merida also knew she wouldn't be able to figure out who he was. She reached for his mask to pull it off, but the man stopped her and twisted her arm away. Caught off guard, Merida backed away. The masked man saw his chance, and he ran. Merida dropped the gun.

"Thank you," a Scottish voice said from behind her. "If not for you, he probably would have killed me."

Merida's eyes widened. After the hours upon hours she had spent watching Robert Gold movies with Belle, she knew his voice. The redhead turned around slowly, finding herself face to face with Belle's celebrity crush.

"Robert Gold," he extended his hand, "though I assume you already know that. And what might your name be?"

"Merida," she answered simply, forcing herself not to mention Belle.

"Well, Merida, as you can see, I've found myself without a bodyguard as I just fired my last one an hour ago. Would you happen to be interested in replacing him?"

"I- I don't know," Merida stammered. What if Belle got mad at her for accepting the offer? Worse, what if this job caused Belle to get jealous of Merida and ended up ruining their friendship? "Can I think about it?"

"Think all you like." Gold reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, which he handed to Merida. "Just call me when you've made your decision." After that, Gold got into his car and drove away while Merida watched, dumbfounded. Her eyes slowly drifted to the business card Gold had handed her. In small print, it had Gold's name, phone number, and e-mail address.


End file.
